Nearly 1 in 4 Opioid Addiction Patients Use CBD — Mostly for Anxiety, Pain, and Sleep
Among 550 people in opioid addiction treatment, 23% used CBD — primarily for anxiety, pain, sleep, and depression — with 42% using it specifically to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
CBD has become wildly popular, with claims ranging from anxiety relief to pain management. But how are people with serious opioid addictions actually using it? This survey from Mount Sinai's Addiction Institute provides a window into a population where the stakes are high and the potential for both benefit and harm is significant.
Among 550 people receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), 129 (23%) reported using CBD. Their reasons paint a picture of broad symptom self-management: anxiety (62.8%), pain (50.4%), sleep (48.8%), depression (48.1%), and recreation (24.8%). But two findings stand out for their clinical significance.
First, 42% of CBD users reported using it specifically to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal is the most immediate barrier to opioid recovery — it's physically miserable and drives relapse. If CBD genuinely helps with withdrawal, it could be a valuable adjunct to medications like buprenorphine and methadone. Early preclinical evidence supports this possibility, but clinical trials are limited.
Second, 17% reported using CBD to control their addiction itself. This is a more ambitious claim, and the evidence is thinner — but the fact that patients in active addiction treatment are independently turning to CBD for this purpose suggests it deserves rigorous investigation.
The study also compared perceptions between CBD users and non-users, finding that users had more positive views of CBD's potential — not surprising, but it confirms that personal experience drives perception in this population, not clinical evidence.
Key Numbers
550 survey completers. 129 (23%) reported CBD use. Reasons: anxiety 62.8%, pain 50.4%, sleep 48.8%, depression 48.1%, recreation 24.8%. 42% used CBD for opioid withdrawal. 17% used CBD to control addiction. Survey period: July 2021 – August 2023 at Mount Sinai Addiction Institute.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional survey of individuals receiving treatment for opioid use disorder at the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, New York City (July 2021 – August 2023). 587 respondents, 550 completed surveys. Assessed demographics, opioid use, CBD use patterns, and perceptions. Ordinal logistic regression compared perceptions between CBD users and non-users, adjusting for age and race.
Why This Research Matters
The opioid crisis has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, and treatment options, while effective, are limited. If CBD can reduce withdrawal severity and support recovery — even modestly — it could save lives. This survey establishes that patients are already using CBD for these purposes, independently and without clinical guidance, making clinical trials to determine efficacy and safety an urgent priority.
The Bigger Picture
This connects to the harm reduction and addiction clusters throughout the database. The neurobiological basis for CBD-opioid interactions is supported by RTHC-00113 (chronic pain and dopamine dysregulation) and RTHC-00091 (CBD enzyme inhibition, which could affect buprenorphine and methadone levels via RTHC-00078). The self-medication pattern mirrors RTHC-00116 (PTSD driving substance use). For harm reduction, the question is whether CBD is a tool or a distraction from evidence-based treatments.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional survey — self-reported CBD use and perceived benefits don't prove CBD actually helped. Patients in addiction treatment may overreport positive experiences with non-opioid substances. No verification of CBD product content or dosing. Selection bias — people willing to complete a survey may differ from those who declined. Single treatment center in New York City. No objective outcomes (urine drug screens, retention in treatment) measured.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would a randomized trial show CBD reduces opioid withdrawal severity compared to placebo?
- ?Is the 42% using CBD for withdrawal finding a genuine therapeutic signal or placebo/expectation effect?
- ?Could CBD interact with buprenorphine or methadone through the CYP450 pathways described in RTHC-00091?
- ?Should addiction treatment programs proactively counsel patients about CBD — recommending it, cautioning against it, or simply acknowledging its use?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Cross-sectional survey providing descriptive data on CBD use patterns in an OUD treatment population. Valuable for understanding patient behavior but cannot establish whether CBD actually helps with withdrawal or addiction.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2024. CBD for opioid use disorder is an active area of clinical trial development.
- Original Title:
- Use and perceptions of Cannabidiol among individuals in treatment for opioid use disorder.
- Published In:
- Harm reduction journal, 21(1), 135 (2024) — Harm Reduction Journal is a peer-reviewed journal focusing on evidence-based strategies to reduce the negative consequences of drug use.
- Authors:
- Kudrich, Christopher(2), Chen, Rebecca, Meng, Yuan, Bachi, Keren, Hurd, Yasmin L
- Database ID:
- RTHC-05443
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Read More on RethinkTHC
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-05443APA
Kudrich, Christopher; Chen, Rebecca; Meng, Yuan; Bachi, Keren; Hurd, Yasmin L. (2024). Use and perceptions of Cannabidiol among individuals in treatment for opioid use disorder.. Harm reduction journal, 21(1), 135. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01051-5
MLA
Kudrich, Christopher, et al. "Use and perceptions of Cannabidiol among individuals in treatment for opioid use disorder.." Harm reduction journal, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01051-5
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Use and perceptions of Cannabidiol among individuals in trea..." RTHC-05443. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/kudrich-2024-use-and-perceptions-of
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.